Owners postpone Peak Festival

Owners AMC have decided to postpone next year's Peak Festival because of anticipated competition...
Owners AMC have decided to postpone next year's Peak Festival because of anticipated competition with the 2010 Rippon Festival and sponsorship issues. Photo by James Beech.
Queenstown's first major live music event will not return next year because of issues to do with the tough economic climate, organisers say.

Peak Festival, which was to have been annual, has been postponed.

The reasons were anticipated competition with the 2010 Rippon Festival, to be held on February 6 in Wanaka, and because sponsorship would be harder to secure after the Queenstown Winter Festival and inaugural Winter Games New Zealand.

Peak Festival co-ordinator Samantha Stirling, of Queenstown, said promoters Australasian Music Corporation (AMC), which owns the one-day concert, made the decision last month.

"It has nothing to do with the success of last year. I'm still getting a lot of demos from up-and-coming artists wanting to be involved, and so many people in the community are asking if it's on, because they want to go."

Miss Stirling said the end of 2010 or early 2011 were being considered as alternative dates for the second Peak Festival.

"On a personal level, I'm disappointed because it was so much fun to organise and support and I was looking foward to doing it again this year. But at the end of the day, it's not my money funding the event."

Miss Stirling said the revenue from the debut festival was "on track" with AMC's expectations, and ticket sales were "pretty solid".

"It did not make a profit, but it did not make a huge loss either. We never expected to make a profit until the third year.

"We still see the event being a long-term success in the community. Queenstown got national and international exposure through media coverage, word of mouth and social networks."

Top-performing acts Salmonella Dub, Kora, Utah Saints, Tahuna Breaks and dDub, plus Southern bands Six60 and Theorem and DJs performed for a crowd of between 1500 and 2000 fans at the concert.

It was held on the cricket oval at the Queenstown Events Centre, on January 3.

Lakes Leisure, a Queenstown Lakes District Council-controlled organisation, was a supply sponsor and adjusted its hire contract with AMC to support the festival in its first year.

Lakes Leisure events manager Karen Gemmell said it was "really awesome that they were able to come in 2009 and we look forward to the opportunity that they come back again on a more suitable occasion".

 

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